New Omarosa tape has aides talking about Donald Trump possibly using racial slur

Omarosa has revealed that she secretly recorded numerous people within the Donald Trump administration. The announcement fell during the same week of the schedule release of her book "Unhinged." Now, the White House is firing back.
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President Donald Trump and Omarosa Manigault Newman, back in 2015.(Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON – The latest tape from former Donald Trump associate Omarosa Manigault Newman finds her and three 2016 campaign officials discussing the possibility of a tape in which Trump supposedly uses a racial slur.

"He said it; he is embarrassed by it," campaign spokesperson Katrina Pierson could be heard saying on the tape played Tuesday on "CBS This Morning," though the comment came during a discussion of how to potentially spin audio that none of the participants had heard.

While Manigault Newman has claimed within the last week that she has heard the tape, no audio has publicly surfaced with Trump using the "n" word. The president has denied saying it.

Rumors about a racist tape, supposedly from outtakes of Trump's old television program "The Apprentice," surfaced during the last month of the 2016 presidential campaign.

In a Monday night tweet, Trump said television producer Mark Burnett "called to say that there are NO TAPES of the Apprentice where I used such a terrible and disgusting word as attributed by Wacky and Deranged Omarosa. I don’t have that word in my vocabulary, and never have. She made it up."

At the time, Trump campaign aides did express concern about a racist tape, especially after the release of tapes in which the New York businessman could be heard talking about grabbing and forcing himself upon women.

In her book, "Unhinged: An Insiders Account of the Trump White House," Manigault Newman writes about a phone conference with Pierson; Lynne Patton, then-assistant to Eric Trump, and campaign communications director Jason Miller.

The book described Patton saying Trump denied using racist language. "He goes, how do you think I should handle it? And I told him exactly what you just said, Omarosa, which is well, it depends on what scenario you are talking about. And he said, well, why don't you just go ahead and put it to bed?"

Per the book, Pierson then interjected: "He said. No, he said it. He is embarrassed by it."

During an interview Monday on Fox News, Pierson denied the conference call itself.

"That did not happen," she said. "Sounds like she is writing a script for a movie."

In a statement Tuesday, Pierson said the tape reflected a conversation held largely to placate Manigault Newman.

"During the 2016 campaign, we heard rumors about an alleged tape from 'The Apprentice,'" Pierson said. "It’s clear now that those rumors were always being circulated by Omarosa and her alone."

In her book, Manigault Newman said has not heard the tape of Trump using racial language. But during her book tour, she said she has heard it since the book went to press.

Patton said she has never denied meetings about rumors of a racist tape, but she never confirmed its existence.

"Nice try, @OMAROSA," Patton tweeted. "We never disputed we had multiple conversations about the alleged “Apprentice” tape b/c you were obsessed with it."

Asked on "CBS This Morning" why she would record campaign officials without their knowledge, Manigault Newman said, "Because the truth matters ... And if I didn't have this tape, you all would probably be wondering if, in fact, they did talk about it."

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Omarosa Manigault-Newman, 44, former White House Director of Communications for the Office of Public Liaison, left her White House job this week under disputed circumstances. She says she was not escorted from the premises after a difficult discussion with Chief of Staff John Kelly. Saul Loeb, AFP/Getty Images

TV personality and former White House staffer Omarosa Manigault Newman discusses her time in the White House and secret tapes she's released on "Today," Aug. 13, 2018, in New York. Manigault Newman was promoting her book "Unhinged." Zach Pagano/AP

The former reality TV personality was a contestant on Donald Trump's show 'The Apprentice' in 2004. On April 28, 2018, she arrived to the White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington, DC with her husband, Pastor John Allen Newman. The two wed in 2017 at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

The White House announced Manigault-Newman's resignation from her position as director of communications for the White House Office of Public Liaison would be effective Jan. 20, 2018. In this photograph, she listens during the daily press briefing at the White House on Oct. 27, 2017. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

When Chief of Staff John Kelly took the helm in the White House, Manigault-Newman's ability to reach the President directly was greatly curtailed. Part of her role was to be a liaison between the White House and the black community. Mark Wilson, Getty Images

President Donald Trump (R) is joined by Vice President Mike Pence, White House Director of Communications for the Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs Omarosa Manigault (L) and other staff members during a meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus Executive Committee at the White House. During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump asked African Americans to support him, saying, "You're living in poverty, your schools are no good, you have no jobs, 58 percent of your youth is unemployed -- what the hell do you have to lose?" Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images

Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway left, and Director of Communications for the Office of Public Liaison Omarosa Manigault, 2nd left, and White House communications director Mike Dubke, right, listen as a reporter asks a question during a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House. Shawn Thew, EPA

Omarosa Manigault, speaks with reporters during the Cocktails and Convention reception hosted by the Black Republican Caucus of Florida, in Cleveland, OH. She does not enjoy great support in the black community. Jarrad Henderson, USA TODAY NETWORK

While the dramatic in-your-face competitor was eventually fired in Donald Trump's reality show, the two hit it off and she has remained extremely loyal to Trump. Omarosa speaks to the media to show her support for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump after he wins the New York Primary at Trump Towers in Manhattan on April 19, 2016. Carucha L. Meuse, The Journal News

Omarosa makes an entrance on the red carpet for the Emmy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. She made such an impact on Trump's show she's famous enough to go by her first name only. Dan MacMedan, USA TODAY

You've made it when you become a character on 'Saturday Night Live.' Fired 'Apprentice' candidate Omarosa, portrayed by Maya Rudolph, is repeatedly struck in the head by falling objects (culminating in a sidewalk garbage can) when she visits Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" with Tina Fey (left) and Jimmy Fallon (right). Mary Ellen Matthews, NBC